(Question about things) Has Chinatown declined from the place of residence to the business district?
China News Service, Beijing, April 27th. Title: Has Chinatown declined from residence to commercial area?
China News Agency reporter Ran Wenjuan
Linghuping.
Photo courtesy of me
Zhou Min.
Photo courtesy of me
Starting in 2020, the new crown pneumonia epidemic that has swept the world has had a significant impact on the development of overseas Chinatowns.
In the United States, many shops have closed, businesses have restructured, and more and more residents have moved out. The media and businesses have raised questions: Is Chinatown in the United States in decline?
Recently, a reporter from China News Agency interviewed Ling Huping, a professor of history at Truman State University, and Zhou Min, a professor of sociology and Asian American studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, to explore the history and prospects of the development of Chinatown in the United States.
"Sanctuary" for early Chinese immigrants
The formation of Chinese American society has a long history, which can be traced back to the early days of the founding of the United States.
During this period, the Chinese immigrant community in the United States experienced several major periods, namely the period of free immigration (1848-1881), the period of anti-Chinese (1882-1943), and the period of restricted immigration (1944-1965). ) And equal immigration period (1965-present).
In the early years, most Chinese immigrants were poor laborers.
They endured all kinds of discrimination in a foreign country and lived hard at the bottom of society.
Faced with endless difficulties and challenges, many people chose to help each other and hug each other to keep warm, and Chinatown was born.
"No matter where they go, the Chinese will bring the unique culture and living habits formed by civilization for thousands of years there, forming a Chinese settlement and commercial activity area that is different from the culture of the country where they are located, and the local culture of the country where they are The rejection of the Chinese has also forced the Chinese to establish Chinatowns to "self-preserve and support themselves"." Linghuping said.
In Linghuping's view, Chinatown is more like a "sanctuary" for the first generation of Chinese immigrants to the United States.
In Chinatown, where the Chinese live in communities, people can communicate with the local accent, and working in the same town or in the shop business of the same clan has also absorbed part of the labor force of the Chinese workers, enabling them to survive on this land for a long time.
Zhou Min shared this view, but emphasized that Chinatown is a product of US institutional discrimination.
Data map: American New Yorkers dine in an old restaurant in Chinatown.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Liao Pan
A window for cultural exchange between the East and the West
"To love China is like a person loves his parents. For him, China is a mass society, not a country-a mass society composed of people with the same beliefs and the same customs." This is Lin Yutang The description of the protagonist Feng Lao Er in the novel "Chinatown".
With the increasing attention to overseas Chinese and Chinese people, research materials about Chinatown have become more and more abundant.
In fact, as early as nearly a hundred years ago, literary works related to Chinatown had been published.
The novel "Chinatown" was written in English by Lin Yutang in the 1920s and 1930s. It tells the story of old Tom's family who had made a living from China to the United States to start a business in New York's Chinatown.
Lin Yutang, who "has two feet on Eastern and Western cultures," described the life of the Chinese in Western language, and also reproduced the history of Chinatown in the United States in the early years.
There is a passage in the novel: "The overseas Chinese, as usual, organize associations and urge to raise funds. They don’t hesitate to exchange U.S. dollars for Chinese money. Their generosity in donating money is hard to imagine that they are usually frugal. Chinese. Laundry workers, restaurant owners, and waiters all hand over the money they save on a monthly basis. Most of the money donated by overseas Chinese in the United States comes from laundry workers and restaurant owners. As everyone knows, the Qing government The overthrow of the was also donated by the laundry workers, and now they are again donating the money they saved bit by bit in order to save the motherland."
For the Western society at that time, the Chinese immigrants living in a corner were undoubtedly a mysterious group, and the literary works of immigrants represented by "Chinatown" also caused a enthusiastic response in Western society.
As the Chinese have become a "model minority" in the eyes of mainstream American society, the Chinese community has also been able to rapidly develop into the suburbs, but Chinatown is still one of the main forms of the Chinese community in the United States.
And Chinatown and the Chinese culture it represents continue to influence American society’s perception of the Chinese community and even China, and become a window for Western society to understand Chinese culture.
Data map: On the third day of the Lunar New Year, New Yorkers in the United States put colorful flower tubes in Chinatown to feel the atmosphere of the Chinese New Year.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Liao Pan
A bridge connecting new and old immigrants
The abolition of the Chinese Exclusion Act and the rise of the affirmative movement have gradually opened up the US immigration policy.
Beginning in the mid-1960s, the equal opportunities of ethnic minorities in choosing residential areas, education, and employment were protected by law. A new generation of Chinese immigrants and their children began to spread all over the major cities in the United States. Integrate into mainstream American society.
Due to the improvement of economic and social status, many new Chinese immigrants no longer choose Chinatown as their residence, and instead set their sights on the emerging Chinese suburbs.
All signs seem to indicate the same thing: Chinatown is no longer the preferred place of residence for the new generation of Chinese immigrants.
Does this mean the decline of Chinatown?
the answer is negative.
In Zhou Min's view, Chinatown has taken root in major cities in the United States for many years and has become a part of urban communities.
Its own long and stable ethnic social structure and ethnic economy have ensured the sustainable development of Chinatown.
The development of Chinese associations is one of the important community organizations that maintain Chinatown’s connection with the outside world and prevent Chinatown’s social isolation.
Zhou Min, for example, said that if a building belongs to a fellow township or clan association, it will become a gathering center for members of the same ethnic group, including middle-class members who migrated to the suburbs.
Many new immigrant societies have also established chambers of commerce and professional associations to unite with traditional community organizations in Chinatown to strengthen the social structure of ethnic communities and handle matters of common concern.
With the expansion of ethnic communities and the diversification of economic and cultural activities, the community participation of Chinese immigrants has become increasingly diversified.
A resident of Chinatown can be an employee and customer of an ethnic economy, a member of an ethnic society, a member of a church, and an active member of other organizations at the same time.
The development of the ethnic economy and the stability of the social structure in Chinatown not only strengthened the connection between the new and old Chinese immigrants, but also avoided the impoverishment and social isolation of the community, allowing the Chinese immigrants with low socio-economic backgrounds to get through Chinatown. The success of upward social mobility.
This is relatively rare in urban communities of other ethnicities.
Data map: Volunteer security patrol team voluntarily formed by merchants and residents of Chinatown in Oakland, California, patrol Chinatown.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Liu Guanguan
The function of ethnic communities has changed
Traditional Chinese communities have adjusted their paces with time, and new types of Chinese immigrant organizations have begun to emerge in and outside Chinatown.
Many Chinese society organizations integrate American and Chinese cultures and become an important force in protecting Chinatown from capital erosion.
"Many Chinatowns are located in the center of the city, with superior geographical location, and are often threatened by real estate development." Zhou Min said that in this regard, the community's civil rights organizations will play a certain role in restricting real estate capital investment.
Together with the support of relevant local legislation, it is helpful to protect Chinatown.
For Chinese Americans, Chinatown has gradually lost its function as a "gathering place", but it still retains its ethnic identity culturally.
Today's Chinatown is not only one of the major Chinese community models in the United States, but also an indispensable and important part of the diverse American culture.
"For today's Chinese immigrants, the function of Chinatown has changed. Economically, Chinatown has changed from a traditional Chinese settlement area to a tourist area and commercial area; culturally, the function of Chinatown is mostly represented as a highly concentrated activity area representing Chinese culture; Politically, in order to win the support of Chinese voters, candidates for government positions at all levels in the United States will visit Chinatown to canvass for votes." Linghuping said.
The social structure of Chinatown supports the ethnic economy, and active ethnic economic activities in turn support the sustainable development of Chinatown’s economy.
Zhou Min pointed out that many activities representing Chinese culture, such as traditional festivals, dragon and lion dances, cultural markets, etc., are still held in Chinatown today, demonstrating the efforts made by Chinese organizations to enhance the image of Chinese culture.
Linghuping believes that the development of tourism has also increased the American society's demand for Chinatowns in large-scale port cities.
Today, Chinatown has become an "outpost" for the spread of Chinese culture overseas.
"Chinatown meets the needs of all ethnic groups in the United States for Chinese food and the curiosity of those interested in Asian culture."
Data map: On November 3, 2020, local time, on the election day of the US presidential election, Chinese voters voted at a polling station in Chinatown, Manhattan, New York.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Liao Pan
Long-term development has a solid foundation
From a single and relatively closed residential area to a tourist area and a commercial area, the transformation has allowed Chinatown to find a new development path, but it has also been hit hard by the epidemic.
The stagnation of the tourism industry has taken away international tourists, small businesses have closed down one after another, and many businesses can only rely on government subsidies to survive.
Coupled with the declining number of residents in Chinatown, many people are puzzled whether there is still a way to survive in Chinatown in the future.
Zhou Min expressed optimism about the future development of Chinatown.
"Despite the severe epidemic, there are still many Chinese merchants who are not waiting to die. They have found a new way. For example, Chinese restaurants are switching to takeaway, and some stores are also transforming to online businesses. The effect seems to be good."
Zhou Min believes that the entire American society has been affected by the epidemic.
Chinatown has formed a solid foundation of social and economic structure, and has long-term experience in adversity and survival.
After the epidemic improves and the economy recovers, normalcy is just around the corner.
(End) (Liu Likun and Gao Chuyi participated in the writing of this article)
Ling Huping, former visiting researcher at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University, former dean of Truman State University, founder and former chairman of the Asian Studies Degree Committee, and current professor of the school’s history department, Rottgers University Press, USA Creation and first editor of the Asian American Studies series.
He has long been engaged in the study of overseas Chinese, Asian American and Chinese society, and Asian American and Chinese women, pioneered the "cultural community theory" of immigration, and has published more than 30 academic monographs.
Zhou Min, the first dean of the Department of Asian Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the current director of the Asia Pacific Center and professor of sociology.
The main research areas are the sociology of international migration, ethnic minority economy, the second generation of immigrants and overseas Chinese, and he founded the "stratified assimilation theory".
A total of 19 academic monographs have been published, and more than 200 academic papers in Chinese and English have been published.
Won the 2017 "Outstanding Professional Achievement Award" of the International Immigration Branch of the American Sociological Association and the 2020 "Outstanding Academic Contribution Award" of the Asian and Asian Studies Branch of the American Sociological Association.